Stocks close mixed amid lackluster trading

April 4, 2011

In this March 15, 2011 photo, a curved seven story video billboard is an iconic feature of the NASDAQ Stock Market site building in Times Square, New York. On April 4, 2011, while stocks on the Dow and S&P 500 eked out gains, the Nasdaq closed slightly lower.

Stocks closed mixed Monday with tech stocks lower after the market traded within a narrow range during much of a quiet session with the market at or near highs for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23.31 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 12,400.03, the highest close since June 5, 2008. The blue-chip index started the second quarter solidly, closing higher on Friday amid optimism over a recovery in the labor market after data showed a drop in unemployment.

The S&P 500 rose 0.46 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 1,332.87, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 0.41 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,789.19. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, rose above 17.

Trading was quiet ahead of a week short on economic data or significant earnings reports, with the New York Stock Exchange recording its lowest volume for the year. Only 3.3 billion shares traded on the consolidated tape of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, compared with an average daily volume this year of 4.46 bilion.

Investors also seemed reluctant to push stocks past current resistance levels. The Dow traded near its previous 2011 closing high of 12,291.25, while the S&P had trouble breaking beyond 1,333, which was double its intraday low during the financial crisis, and "still struggles to get to the previous high at 1,344," Elliot Spar, option/market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus, wrote in a note to clients. Spar said he would be "cautious" on the market if the S&P 500 moves lower than the 50-day moving average of 1,310.

Texas Instruments announced after the market closed that it agreed to acquire National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion or $25 a share in cash. Earlier, semiconductor stocks had led the tech sector lower, but they rose in after-market trading.

OmniVision Technologies, specifically, fell had fallen more than 7 percent during Monday's session after news Sony may be supplying semiconductor imaging components to Apple for the iPhone. OmniVision had supplied those components.

Apple fell even after Canaccord Genuity raised its price target on the iPad maker to $480 from $460. And Nvidia also fell after UBS cut its price target on the graphic chips maker to $20 from $22.

Unrest in the Middle East and North Africa continued to worry investors. Oil prices rose with U.S. light crude settling up 53 cents at $108.47 a barrel, its highest close since September 2008, reflecting concerns over supply. London Brent crude closed above $120 a barrel. Meanwhile, gold settled near $1,432 an ounce and silver rose to a 31-year high.

Shares of Southwest Airlines fell after news the airliner canceled 70 flights on Monday after a Boeing 737 was forced to make an emergency landing Friday because of a hole in its fuselage, and that cracks were found in the fuselages of 3 other airlines after 33 were inspected. In addition, UBS cut its rating on the airline company to "neutral" from "buy."Boeing shares also fell on the news.

And General Dynamics tumbled more than 5 percent after a weekend crash of a flight-test aircraft of its Gulfstream business jet unit killed four people.

And Vivus jumped after the pharmaceutical firm reported a two-year study showed Qnexa, its weight loss drug, also reduces high blood pressure.

Molycorp soared after news the rare-earth producer bought a majority stake in AS Silmet, one of two rare-earth processing companies in Europe. "In the short-term, this will greatly increase our ability to supply our products into the increasingly tight global rare earth market and provide a convenient base from which to supply European customers," said Mark Smith, president and CEO, in a statement.

Deutsche Boerse is waiting to hear from NYSE Euronext's board and the credit rating agencies before it will make a counter offer to Nasdaq andInterContinentalExchange's offer for the stock exchange, sources told Reuters.

Analysts were mixed on the companies—Jefferies cut its rating on Nasdaq to "hold" from "buy," while Raymond James raised its price target to $33.50 from $28.50. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo cut its rating on NYSE Euronext to "market perform" from "outperform" while Susquehanna its price target on the firm to $40 from $36.

BP shares were flat after The Sunday Times in Britain said the oil group struck a deal with U.S. regulators which allows it to resume drilling in 10 existing wells in the Gulf of Mexico.